Corner lock for wooden bedsteads



Feb- 21, 1933- H. RICHARDSON CORNER LOCK FOR WOODEN BEDSTEADS Filed July 20, 1929 Patented Feb. 21, 1933 UNITED STATES HENRY RICHARDSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS comme Loox non WOODEN Bnnsmnans Application led July 20,

vThis invention pertains to what are commonly known as corner locks for bedsteads,

including the instrumentalities by which the wooden side rails of a wooden bedstead are separably united to the corner posts or ends of'said bedstead.

The general use of gumw-ood, and other woods oit comparatively soft texture, for modern wooden bedsteads having wooden side rails, has created a pressing need for a low cost and eiiicient bed corner construction suitable for such bedsteads.

My present construction is believed to be a novel means for removably wedging the vertical end edge of the main wooden bar member of a side rail in Contact with the wooden surface of a bed end.

In one well known and commonly used bed corner construction for beds of the type above mentioned, a deep vertical mortise is cut in the vertical end edge of the wooden side rail and extends for a considerable distance inwardly of said end, a plate, carrying a hook or hooks, being inserted in the mortise, said hook or hooks projecting beyond the end ofthe wooden rail. This mortise greatly weakens the endl portion of the side rails, and an important advantage of the construction herein shown is that the vertical end edge of the side rail is intact and has no projection of any kind beyond the end thereof.

This application is a modification of a corner lock construction shown and described M in a companion application tiled concurrent- '5 lyherewith, Serial No. 379,651, which has for its primary object the wedging of a metal side rail against a metal bed end, by means of a wedging member, preferably extending beyond the end of said metal side rail. Some important modifications of the relativey arrangement of the cooperating parts illustrated in said companion application are imperative, in order to provide a practical corner construction for wedging wooden side rais against, and in contact with, wooden bed en s.

` The difference between the depth and thickness of a steel side rail and a wooden side rail, and the position of the horizontal mem- W ber of each of said rails, when they are con- 1929. Serial No. 379,650.

nected to a bedstead in their respective regular positions are vitally important considerations. In the regular position of an angle bar side rail the horizontal member of said bar is uppermost, and any practical depth of its vertical member is insufficient to allow the latter to be locked to the outer side of a bracket side plate, unless there is a slot'formed in said horizontal member to accommodate the bracket side plate, and for said side rail to be reversible such a slot must extend from the end of said side rail, inwardly of the latter, for a distance slightly greater than the proj ection of the bracket side plate from the bed end. Any such slotting is avoided by locating the vertical member in its proper place on the inner side of the bracket sideplate.

A metal wedging member on the end of a. steel side rail used on a metal bed may, and preferably does, extend beyond the end of said rail, as shown in said companion application and for the reasons stated therein.

In the case of a wooden bed, for considerations of economy and simplicity, the vertical end edge of the main wooden bar member of the side rail should be wedged in contact with the wooden surface of said end, any wedging member acting only to force and hold the said side rail against said bed end; and furthermore, there should be no metal parts of any lkind on a wooden bed end that would interfere with said wedging.

When a wedging member is used on a wooden bed end, the vertical end portion of a wooden side rail should preferably be disposed along the outer side of a metal sidev plate on said bed end, with said wedging member on the'inner side of said end portion, thus concealingthe said side plate and all rail locking elements, the latter projecting only from the inner or unfinished side of the vertical member of said wooden side rail, a very desirable feature of any practical corner construction for a wooden bedstead.

Still other objects and attendant advan- 95 tages of the invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which I have illustrated a simple and practical embodiment of the invention, and wherein- Fig. 1 is an inner side elevation of a fragment of a wooden bed end and side rail showing my improved corner lock applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a group view showing the side rail and its locking cleat withdrawn from the bracket plate on the bed end.

Fig. 4 is a top plan of Fig. 3 with the bed end corner post appearing in section on the line 4 4 'of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary outer side elevation of the bed end corner section and the side rail in abutment with the latter, illustrating the entire concealment from the .outside of the locking inst-rumentalities.

Referring to the drawing, 10 may designate a wooden corner post or the corresponding portion of a wooden bed end, and 11 designates the vertical member of a wooden side rail. The inner edge of the post l0, as shown in Fig. 4 is vertically mortised to receive a flat metal bracket plate 12, which latter is firmly anchored in the post by counter sunk rivets 13, the ends of said rivets being covered and concealed by paclings 111 of plastic wood, or other filler material to conceal the fastening devices.

The projecting portion of the bracket plate 12 is formed with a downwardly extending slot or notchl, the outer wall 15 of which is downwardly inclined toward the post 10 for a purpose which will later appear. Below the slot 15 and preferably on the outer side of the plate 12, there is formed a boss or lug 16. This latter is cheaply and easily formed by slitting the metal of the side plate along spaced parallel lines, the innermost of which is preferably substantially parallel or in alignment with the outer side wall 15 'of the slot 15, and then swaging the metal outwardly between said slits.

To the inner side of the vertical member 11 of the side rail is attached, as .by a rivet 17 and a locking stud 1S, hereinafter more particularly described, a locking plate or cleat 19. This locking plate or cleat is slotted upwardly from its lower edge to form a locking arm or prong 20, the inner edge 20 of which is inclined in the same direction and to the same extent as the inclined wall 15 of the slot 15. It will also be observed that this locking arm 2O preferably lies, as shown herein, between the upper and lower edges of the vertical member 11 of the wooden side rail. The stud 18, as shown in Fig. l, is formed with an enlarged neck portion 18 that provides an annular shoulder for uniting the plate 19 to said vertical member 11, and a head portion 18". The neck portion 18 is adapted to enter the slot l5 and slidingly engage with the inclined outer wall 15 of the latter, the head 18a overlapping the edge walls of the slot, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and thus securing a locking of the cleat and side rail against lateral displacement outwardly of the bracket plate.

lVhen the locking cleat 19 is engaged with the bracket plate 12, the neck 18 of the locking stud slides downwardly on the inclined wall 15', and simultaneously the inclined inner wall 20 of the locking arm or prong 20 slidingly engages with the inner edge of the boss 16, until the squared end of the side rail has been wedged into snug contact with the face of the bed end 10. Manifestly, the greater the weight on the side rail, the more powerful i's the wedging action, and the tighter the fit between the end of the side rail and the bed end. At the same time, the side rail is readily withdrawn by a light blow on its lower edge suliicient to overcome the friction of the parts, after which the side rail can be readily removed from the bracket simply by the upward lifting of said rail.

When a laterally extending rail locking lug or boss such as 16 is used on a metal side plate, it is preferably formed by a pressed out part of said side plate, and when the latter is used in connection with awooden bed end, the projection of said boss is preferably slightly less than the thickness of the metal plate 19 on which the rail locking arm 2O is formed, as shown in Fig. 2, so that no mortising of the vertical end portion of the wooden side rail is required. It will be observed that the rail locking arm 2O carried by the vertical member of the wooden side rail, may terminate, as shown herein, above the lower edge of said member, so as to be entirely concealed and lessen the otherwise necessary depth of the bracket plate 12.

At 21 I show the usual ledge applied to the inner side of the vertical member 11 of the side rail at the lower edge of the latter, which constitutes the usual support for a bed spring or the ends of bed slats carrying a bed spring. This ledge 14 preferably ends, as shown in the drawing, outwardly of the outer vertical edge of the bracket plate 12 for reasons already set forth. The distance between the ledge 21 and the lower edge of the bracket plate 12 is sufficient to permit the coupling and separation of the parts of the corner lock without interference by the ledge 21 if it is preferred to have the latter extend to the end of the wooden bed rail.

This invention is not limited to the particular form and arrangements of the lower rail locking elements shown herein as a boss co-operating with the inclined ed ge 'of an arm, except to the extent called for by the claims, and manifestly minor changes may be made in the specified forms, proportions and ar-v lili) rangements of the other parts of the construction herein shown and described. Therefore, it is to be understood that l reserve all modiications falling within the spirit and purview of the claims.

The details set forth herein are believed to very clearly demonstrate that a low cost practical and efficient corner lock construction for either metal or wooden beds is as J much dependent upon a correct relative arrangement of all the parts of said construction as it is upon the use of only essential parts of the simplest practical forms.

The structure herein shown and described has been devised specifically for wooden bedsteads having wooden side rails, and the invention is therefore limited in its application to beds of this type.

I claim:

l. In a corner lock for wooden bedsteads, the combination of a wooden bed end, a vertically disposed flat bracket plate secured to said bed end, and formed with an upper rail locking slot having an open end and an edge e downwardly inclined toward said bed end having a lower rail locking boss projecting laterally therefrom, a side rail comprising a vertically disposed main woodenV bar having a vertical end edge and an end portion thereof lying along the outer side of said bracket plate, the inner side of said wooden bar being provided vwith an upper rail locking stud and with a metal plate having a lower rail locking arm formed with an inclined edge, said metal plate being disposed entirely back of the vertical end edge of said wooden bar, and the respective engagements of the inclined edge of said arm and said stud with said lateral boss and the inclined edge of said slot cooperating to wedge the vertical end edge of said wooden bar against the wooden surface of said bed end on the outer side of said bracket plate.

2. ln a corner lock for wooden bedsteads, the combination of a wooden bed end, a vertically disposed flat bracket plate secured to said bed end, and formed with an upper rail locking` slot having an open end and an edge downwardly inclined toward said bed end and having obliquely arranged means projecting laterally therefrom, a side rail comprising vertically disposed main wooden bar having a vertical end edge and an end portion 'thereof lying along the outer side of said bracket plate, the inner side of said wooden bar being provided with an upper rail locking stud and with a metal plate having a lower rail locking arm formed with an inclined edge, said metal plate being disposed entirely back of the vertical end edge of said wooden bar, and the respective engagements of the inclined edge of said arm and said stud with said obliquely disposed means and the inclined edge of said slot cooperating to wedge the vertical end edge of said wooden bar against the wooden surface of said bed end on the outer side of said bracket plate.

3. In a corner lock for wooden bedsteads, the combination of a wooden bed end, a vertically disposed flat bracket plate secured to said bed end, and formed with an upper rail locking slot having an open end and an edge downwardly inclined toward said bed end and having on its outer side a lower laterally projecting integralv portion formed with a side downwardly inclined toward said bed end, a side rail comprising a vertically disposed main wooden bar having a vertical end edge and an end portion thereof lying along the outer side of said bracket plate, the inner side of said wooden bar being provided with an upper rail locking stud and with a metal plate having a lower rail locking arm formed with an inclined edge, said metal plate and its arm being` disposed entirely back of the vertical end edge of said wooden bar and entirely between the upper and lower edges of the latter, and the respective engagements of the inclined edge of said arm and said stud with the inclined side of said laterally projecting` portion of the bracket plate and the inclined edge of said slot cooperating to wedge the vertical end edge of saidwooden bar against the wooden surface of said bed end on the outer side of said bracket plate.

4. ln a corner joint for wooden bedsteads, the combination of a wooden bed end, a metal plate having oneportion thereof secured to said bed end and the remaining portion proj ecting from said bed end to constitute a side plate provided with an upper rail locking slot formed with an open end and having an inclined edge, and a lower rail locking boss, a side rail comprising a vertically disposed wooden bar having a vertical end edge and an end portion of said bar lying along said side plate; said end portion being provided with a metal member formed with a lower rail locking edge downwardly inclined towards said bed end and carrying an upper rail locking headed stud the head whereof is adapted to overlap one side of said side plate, the inclined edge of said metal member and said stud being brought into a sliding engagement respectively with said boss and inclined edge of said slot, between the upper and lower edges of said wooden bar, by a downward movement of said side rail, the construction being such that said downward sliding engagement serves to advance and wedgingly force the end edge of said wooden bar against the wooden surface of said bed end and to maintain a pressure Contact between said wooden bar and bed end.

5. In a corner joint for bedsteads having a wooden bed end and a wooden side bar, a combination comprising a vertically disposed bracket plate, an end portion of which is secured to a bed end, a wooden side bar having a vertical end edge and an end portion thereof disposed along the outer side of said bracket plate, a metal plate secured to the inner' side of said bar, one of said plates having an open-ended slot formed with an edge down- 5 Wardly inclined toward said bed end, the other of said plates having a portion olset into said slot, said offset portion having an inclined edge (zo-acting With the inclined edge of said slot to Wedge an end edge of said l0 Wooden bar against the surface of said bed end and also to maintain a pressure Contact between said bar and bed end.

HENRY RICHARDSON. 

